Behind the scenes of Carowinds 2024 season as park renews purpose
The Carowinds 2024 season — the beginning of its second half-century of operations — is now underway with a park-wide re-commitment to its vision.
During a media event to celebrate the kickoff of the 2024 season, Carowinds personnel detailed what guests can expect this year — and teased more news to come.
Carowinds: “Our Purpose is to Make People Happy”
The Cedar Fair-operated Carowinds — located near Charlotte, N.C. on the state line between the two Carolinas — enters 2024 with what seems to be a re-centering of vision and purpose. Throughout the press evening, park leaders echoed a sentiment of delivering on quality and consistency to produce happiness.
Brian Oerding, assistant general manager of Carowinds, spoke to the gathered media.
“This ability to bring happiness and joy and memories to guests is not something that we take lightly,” Oerding said. “We try every day to meet all of their expectations. I understand sometimes we drop the ball, but we try to pick it back up the next day. We do that because this is genuinely what we love to do. Our purpose is to make people happy, and we take that very serious.”
Carowinds won’t open any new rides this year, but in all fairness it debuted five in 2023 as part of the opening of the Aeronautica Landing area during the park’s 50th-anniversary celebration. In lieu of new rides, this year Carowinds teams are placing a noticeable premium on improving what’s already here, from ride operations to guest services.
“I’m sure there are a few surprises up our sleeves,” Oerding continued. “I’m sure there are a few things we’ll tell you later on in the year … but ultimately I think the best thing that we’re gonna provide is the continued fun for everybody, right here on the state line. You can’t get it anywhere else.”
Here’s what’s new and notable at Carowinds in 2024:
Intimidator is now Thunder Striker
Intimidator — standing 232 feet tall and reaching speeds of up to 80 mph — is now known as Thunder Striker. In addition, the roller coaster, which opened in 2010, no longer sports its former Dale Earnhardt branding.
Throughout the park, signage is updated to reflect the name change.
The plaza surrounding Thunder Striker is now called Thunder Road, a tribute to the park’s wooden coaster of the same name that operated from 1976 to 2015. Inside the gift shop at Thunder Striker’s exit, merchandise is displayed in an authentic Thunder Road ride vehicle. A midway game station nearby bears the name of Thunder Road Racers.
The Thunder Striker/Intimidator coaster itself remains the same ride experience. There is, however, some newly drafted Thunder Striker lore that connects it to Thunder Road in the Carowinds coaster universe, if you will. That being said, this backstory is inside baseball, at least for now. The coaster’s queue remains nondescript, void of the props and visual aids that may otherwise convey the narrative.
Refurbished Attractions and Repurposed Spaces
Roaming Carowinds, guests may notice improvement projects ongoing at multiple attractions, and already complete at others.
“Every year, we try to make sure that we are touching up the things that are important to us,” Oerding shared.
Hurler — the wooden coaster that opened in 1994 — is currently closed for refurbishment as the park’s carpentry team completely rebuilds the track on the ride’s back turn from the ground up.
Carowinds’ internal carpentry team is handling the rebuild, which the park notes is unique for the industry. Meanwhile, Carowinds’ electronics team is busy installing a new control system that will be easier for Hurler employees to operate.
Vortex, also currently closed, recently received a fresh coat of paint.
Mid-season 2023, Carowinds refurbished Boo Blasters On Boo Hill, an indoor dark ride in which riders blast ghosts. Though the renovation rolled out with little fanfare, the ride experience was polished start to finish. Blaster/target coordination is improved and all special effects are in pristine working order.
When Aeronautica Landing opened last year, the building formerly occupied by the Plants vs. Zombies simulator remained closed to guests. That building, now called Aeronautica Theater, appears to now be a venue for visiting student music groups. Festival of Music signage flanks the sheltered area outside the building.
When Carolina Harbor reopens this summer, guests may realize the water park’s concrete feels different. Oerding shared that the park will test new pavement in some areas so that guests can “walk around a little bit easier barefoot and not be so hot.”
Carowinds Food “Elevated” for 2024
John Loukas, executive chef at Carowinds, shared with us the lineup of new food available in the park this year. For the “mic drop,” as he put it, though, Loukas invited Chef Joy, pastry supervisor, to introduce (drumroll please) … the cookie cheesecake.
The description that followed — and the taste-testing that followed that — can perhaps best be described as a dish that would make Cookie Monster weep tears of joy. The dessert’s crust is made from ground-up cookies pressed down, with cookie bits nestled within the cheesecake itself. It’s topped with whipped cream, cookie crumbs, and half of a chocolate chip cookie.
Notably, the Grand Carnivale international food festival will not return to Carowinds in 2024. Loukas’ team instead focused on creating a consistent, quality lineup of food that will be available to guests all season, not concentrated into a two-week festival timeframe. Loukas assured that his crew will “elevate their game all year for you.”
In addition to the cookie cheesecake, other new dining options at Carowinds this year (pictured below) include an Asian salad, a black and white cupcake, chicken parmesan piadina, the Terminal A Burger, and wonton chicken tacos.
Other fresh items not pictured include new recipes for a spicy chicken sandwich, fried macaroni bites, and stuffed mushrooms, plus a peanut butter and jelly milkshake topped with an Uncrustable.
So Much Merch
In addition to a stronger intentionality on dining menus the past several years, Carowinds has also noticeably invested in creating extensive new merchandise collections.
With the onset of a new season comes a new collection of 2024 items featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts gang: hats, shirts, mugs, pins, plush toys, and more. We also spotted some Pride apparel. Not new but nonetheless extensive is the array of merchandise specific for the park’s flagship coasters, like Fury 325 and Afterburn (no Thunder Striker merch just yet). A sizable selection of items from last year’s 50th-anniversary collection are still available, too.
Meanwhile, the extent of Peanuts merchandise available, much of it Carowinds-branded, rivals that of their “Minions” or “Toy Story” counterparts in other theme parks. Squishmallows, Legos … you name it, they’ve got it. The gift shop in Camp Snoopy even sells plush toys of each member of Snoopy’s canine family.
We’ve all been there: the weather is colder than you thought it’d be, and you didn’t bring a sweatshirt. After sticking it out for a while, you give in, find the nearest gift shop, and purchase a sweatshirt there. Carowinds has thought through this common conundrum, and provides appropriate gear for guests in such a situation.
Cedar Fair/Six Flags Merger
Last November, Cedar Fair (Carowinds’ parent company) announced it would merge with Six Flags. At the time of this writing, that merger has not yet finalized. There are no noticeable changes within Carowinds for the 2024 season that stem from this business deal.
Looking forward, the newly-combined company will be called Six Flags. Of the vast portfolio of theme parks now under one company, Carowinds will be the home team as the corporation’s headquarters move to Charlotte, N.C.
Carowinds 2024 Special Events
There’s more to come from Carowinds as 2024 continues. Memorial Day Weekend will mark the arrival of water park operations and live entertainment. In June, illusionist Brad Ross will return for another summer residency. This fall, the park will debut the new Tricks and Treats daytime Halloween event.
See the full Carowinds 2024 special events lineup in our previous story:
Carowinds Tickets 2024
Carowinds is now open for the 2024 season. Consult the official park calendar for operating dates and hours.
Single-day tickets start at $40. Silver season passes are available for $95, granting admission to Carowinds and Carolina Harbor through Labor Day. Gold season passes, starting at $120, add admission to Halloween and holiday events. Learn more here.
Take a tour of Aeronautica Landing and go behind the scenes with its creators in our video from the land’s grand opening last year:
